Microstructural evolutions of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solder joints during thermal cycling

Temperature-induced solder joint fatigue is a main reliability concern for aerospace and military industries whose electronic equipment used in the field is required to remain functional under harsh loadings. Due to the RoHS directive which eventually will prevent lead from being utilized in electronic systems, there is a need for a better understanding of lead-free thermomechanical behavior when subjected to temperature variations. As solder joints mechanical properties are dependent of their microstructural characteristics, developing accurate solder joint fatigue models means to correctly capture the microstructural changes that undergo the solder alloy during thermal cycling. This study reports the Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (SAC305) solder joints microstructural evolution during damaging temperature cycles. Electron BackScatter Diffraction (EBSD) analysis was conducted to assess the SAC305 microstructure corresponding to a specific damage level. Investigated microstructural features included the β-Sn grain size and crystallographic orientation, as well as the grain boundary misorientation and Ag3Sn intermetallic compound (IMC) size. As-reflowed and damaged components were also mechanically characterized using nanoindentation technique. The microstructural analysis of SAC305 solder joints prior to thermal cycling showed a highly textured microstructure characteristic of hexa-cyclic twinning with two β-Sn morphologies consisting of preferentially orientated macrograins known as Kara's beach ball, along with smaller interlaced grains. The main observation is that recrystallization systematically occurred in SAC305 solder joints during thermal cycling, creating a high population of misoriented grain boundaries leading to intergranular crack initiation and propagation in the high strain regions. The recrystallization process is accompanied with a progressive loss of crystallographic texture and twinning structure. Ag3Sn IMCs coalescence is another strong indicator of SAC305 solder damage since the bigger and more spaced the IMCs are the less dislocation pinning can prevent recrystallization from occurring

Reliability Assessment Of Self-Alignment Assemblies Of Chip Component After Reflow Soldering Process

Reliability of surface mount components and interconnect are significant issues in electronic manufacturing. Although the reliability of devices has been broadly studied,here we are focusing on the reliability of the solder joint after the self-alignment phenomena during reflow soldering.In this study,the quality of the self-alignment assemblies was analyzed relate to the joint shear strength according to the JIS Z3 198-7 standard and the inspection according to IPC-A-610E standard.The results from reliability study indicate that the shear strength of the misalignment component of solder joints indeed depends on the degree of chip component misalignment.For shift mode configuration in the range of 0-300µm,the resulted chip assembly inspection after the reflow process was in line with the IPC-A-610E standard

Comparing the Performance of Different Machine Learning Models in the Evaluation of Solder Joint Fatigue Life Under Thermal Cycling

Predicting the reliability of board-level solder joints is a challenging process for the designer because the fatigue life of solder is influenced by a large variety of design parameters and many nonlinear, coupled phenomena. Machine learning has shown promise as a way of predicting the fatigue life of board-level solder joints. In the present work, the performance of various machine learning models to predict the fatigue life of board-level solder joints is discussed. Experimental data from many different solder joint thermal fatigue tests are used to train the different machine learning models. A web-based database for storing, sharing, and uploading data related to the performance of electronics materials, the Electronics Packaging Materials Database (EPMD), has been developed and used to store and serve the training data for the present work. Data regression is performed using artificial neural networks, random forests, gradient boosting, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and adaptive boosting with neural networks (AdaBoost). While previous works have studied artificial neural networks as a way to predict the fatigue life of board-level solder joints, the results in this paper suggest that machine learning techniques based on regression trees may also be useful in predicting the fatigue life of board-level solder joints. This paper also demonstrates the need for a large collection of curated data related to board-level solder joint reliability, and presents the Electronics Packaging Materials Database to meet that need

The durability of solder joints under thermo-mechanical loading; application to Sn-37Pb and Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu lead-free replacement alloy

Solder joints in electronic packages provide mechanical, electrical and thermal connections. Hence, their reliability is also a major concern to the electronic packaging industry. Ball Grid Arrays (BGAs) are a very common type of surface mount technology for electronic packaging. This work primarily addresses the thermo-mechanical durability of BGAs and is applied to the exemplar alloys; traditional leaded solder and a popular lead-free solder. Isothermal mechanical fatigue tests were carried out on 4-ball test specimens of the lead-free (Sn-3.8Ag-0.7Cu) and leaded (Sn-37Pb) solder under load control at room temperature, 35°C and 75°C. As well as this, a set of combined thermal and mechanical cycling tests were carried out, again under load control with the thermal cycles either at a different frequency from the mechanical cycles (not-in-phase) or at the same frequency (both in phase and out-of-phase). The microstructural evaluation of both alloys was investigated by carrying out a series of simulated ageing tests, coupled with detailed metallurgical analysis and hardness testing. The results were treated to produce stress-life, cyclic behaviour and creep curves for each of the test conditions. Careful calibration allowed the effects of substrate and grips to be accounted for and so a set of strain-life curves to be produced. These results were compared with other results from the literature taking into account the observations on microstructure made in the ageing tests. It is generally concluded that the TMF performance is better for the Sn-Ag-Cu alloy than for the Sn-Pb alloy, when expressed as stress-life curves. There is also a significant effect on temperature and phase for each of the alloys, the Sn-Ag-Cu being less susceptible to these effects. When expressed as strain life, the effects of temperature, phase and alloy type are much diminished. Many of these conclusions coincided with only parts of the literature and reasons for the remaining differences are advanced

Deposition and application of electroless Ni–W–P under bump metallisation for high temperature lead-free solder interconnects

A reliable and robust diffusion barrier, commonly known as under bump metallisation (UBM), is indispensable in solder interconnects in order to retard the interfacial reaction rate, hence the growth of intermetallic compounds (IMCs). However, electroless Ni-P coatings are not adequate to inhibit interfacial reactions effectively since the formation of columnar structure and voids in the crystalline Ni3P layer in hybrid automotive devices (operating temperature above 300ºC) can significantly deteriorate the mechanical integrity of solder joints. In this thesis, electroless Ni-W-P coatings, as an effective UBM capable to serving under high temperature (up to 450ºC), are developed, characterised and subsequently applied onto the high temperature lead-free solder interconnects. [Continues.

FE IMPACTS ON SOLDER JOINT PROPERTIES IN MICROELECTRONIC ASSEMBLY

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

Obtaining and Characterization of New Materials

At present, more and more procedures and technologies used to discover and characterize new materials are available, including advanced characterization techniques.This Special Issue covers a wide range of topics about obtaining and characterizing new materials, from the nano to macro scales, including for new alloys, ceramics, composites, biomaterials, and polymers and the procedures and technologies used to enhance their structure, properties, and functions. To select new materials for future use, we must first understand their structure and their characteristics using modern techniques such as microscopy (SEM, TEM, AFM, STM, etc.), spectroscopy (EDX, XRD, XRF, FTIR, XPS, etc.), and mechanical tests (tensile, hardness, elastic modulus, toughness, etc.) and their behaviors (in vitro and in vivo; corrosion; and thermal—DSC, STA, DMA, magnetic properties, and biocompatibility), among many others

Thermal and thermo-mechanical performance of voided lead-free solder thermal interface materials for chip-scale packaged power device

The need to maximise thermal performance of electronic devices coupled with the continuing trends on miniaturization of electronic packages require innovative package designs for power devices and modules such as Electronic Control Unit (ECU). Chip scale packaging (CSP) technology offer promising solution for packaging power electronics. This is as a result of the technology’s relatively improved thermal performance and inherent size advantage. In CSP technology, heat removal from the device could be enhanced through the backside of the chip. Heat dissipating units such as heat spreader and/or heat sink can be attached to the backside (reverse side) of the heat generating silicon die (via TIM) in an effort to improve the surface area available for heat dissipation. TIMs are used to mechanically couple the heat generating chip to a heat sinking device and more crucially to enhance thermal transfer across the interface. Extensive review shows that solder thermal interface materials (STIMs) apparently offer better thermal performance than comparable state-of-the-art commercial polymer-based TIMs and thus a preferable choice in packaging power devices. Nonetheless, voiding remains a major reliability concern of STIMs. This is coupled with the fact that solder joints are generally prone to fatigue failures under thermal cyclic loading. Unfortunately, the occurrence of solder voids is almost unavoidable during manufacturing process and is even predominant in lead (Pb)-free solder joints. The impacts of these voids on the thermal and mechanical performance of solder joints are not clearly understood and scarcely available in literature especially with regards to STIMs (large area solder joints). Hence, this work aims to investigate STIM and the influence of voids on the thermo-mechanical and thermal performance of STIM. As previous results suggest that factors such as the location, configuration (spatial arrangement) and size of voids play vital roles on the exact effect of voids, extensive three dimensional (3D) finite element modelling is employed to elucidate the precise effect of these void features on a Pb-free STIM selected after thermo-mechanical fatigue test of standard Pb-free solder alloys. Finite element analysis (FEA) results show that solder voids configuration, size and location are all vital parameters in evaluating the mechanical and thermal impacts of voids. Depending on the location, configuration and size of voids; solder voids can either influence the initiation or propagation of damage in the STIM layer or the location of hot spot on the heat generating chip. Experimental techniques are further employed to compare and correlate levels of voiding and shear strength for representative Pb-free solders. Experimental results also suggest that void size, location and configuration may have an influence on the mechanical durability of solder joints. The findings of this research work would be of interest to electronic packaging engineers especially in the automotive sector and have been disseminated through publications in peer reviewed journals and presentations in international conferences

Technology, science, and environtmental impact of a novel Cu-Ag core-shell solderless interconnect system

Tin-based solder is ubiquitous in microelectronics manufacturing and plays a critical role in electronic packaging and attachment. While manufacturers of consumer electronics have made the transition to the use of lead-free solder, there are still a variety of reliability issues associated with these lead-free alternatives, particularly for high performance, high reliability applications. Because of these performance short-comings, researchers are still searching for a material, an alloy, or a unique alternative that can meet the thermal, mechanical, and electrical requirements for conventional reflow solder applications. In an effort to produce a more reliable alternative, Kim et al. proposed the low-temperature (200°C) sintering of copper-silver core-shell particles as a viable solderless interconnect technology. This technology is based on the silver atoms from the shell diffusing by surface diffusion to form sintered necks between copper particles, and therefore dewetting most of the copper surfaces. This study presents a 3-fold, in-depth evaluation of this Cu-Ag core-shell lead-free solderless interconnect technology focusing on solder paste development and prototyping, silver thin film stress relaxation and dewetting kinetics, and the environmental impacts associated with this new technology. ^ First, an evaluation of the starting particle consistency and sintered compact mechanical properties determined that a specific core-shell particle geometry (1µm average core diameter and 10nm shell thickness) outperformed other combinations, exhibiting the highest modulus and yield strengths in sintered compacts, of 620 MPa and 40-60 MPa respectively. In particular, yield strengths for sintered compacts are similar to those reported for Sn-3.5Ag-0.75Cu (a commonly used lead-free solder) for the same strain rate. Following particle evaluations, the development of a functioning flux formulation was a key factor in the creation of a viable drop-in replacement. The processing of the final flux/particle paste combination was optimized at a commercial test facility for printing on test boards containing a wide variety of pad shapes, sizes, and pitches and thus, validated the ability of the Cu-Ag core-shell paste to be a drop-in replacement for traditional solder paste using conventional manufacturing techniques. ^ The second study addresses the fundamental mechanisms behind interconnect formation. An assessment of the kinetics and microstructure evolution during silver thin film dewetting and defect formation provides essential materials science knowledge to understand and control the functionality of the Cu-Ag core-shell system. From an interrupted annealing study used to quantify dewetting kinetics, a range of surface diffusion coefficients were calculated from the experimental results, assuming that surface diffusion controlled dewetting. The two order of magnitude range in calculated diffusion coefficient demonstrates that the diffusion-limited kinetic models traditionally used to quantify hillock and hole growth kinetics during thin film relaxation and dewetting do not apply to the dewetting of Ag films. The presence of interface-limited kinetics was then validated through the non-uniform growth of individual hillocks over time. ^ Lastly, an environmental assessment compares the impacts associated with the manufacturing and materials for the Cu-Ag core-shell particle system and SAC 305, the most commonly used lead-free solder alloy that contains 96.5% tin, 3% silver, and 0.5% copper. By comparing the impacts on global warming, acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, ecotoxicity, smog, carcinogenics, non-carcinogenics, and respiratory effects associated with each technology, the environmental advantages and disadvantages of each system are clearly communicated. By utilizing this information and the versatility of the core-shell system, possible methods for reducing impacts of the Cu-Ag core-shell system are addressed in order to reduce its environmental footprint. ^ This multidimensional assessment provides a comprehensive validation in terms of technology, science, and environmental impacts of the Cu-Ag core-shell interconnect technology as a viable drop-in replacement for lead-based and lead-free solders for microelectronic manufacturing